My friend Laura (whom I went to school with growing up, who married by jazz band partner from Grade 8!) is a fantabulous, busy Mumma to three kids aged 4, 2 and 5 months.

With all that spare time on her hands, she also makes her own baby wipes. AND THEY’RE AWESOME! Better for the environment, cheaper and their large surface means they last a lonnng time.

I asked her to send the recipe so we could all share in the, erm, cleanliness. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 half roll – Bounty wipes (they work the best for sure)
• 1 1/4 cup boiled water
• 1 tablespoon baby bath soap or baby shampoo
• 1 tablespoon oil (baby oil, mineral oil, massage oil or even olive oil!)
• 1 tablespoon lotion (baby lotion or regular)
• I also sometimes use a couple of drops of tea tree oil for a natural preservative. I know some friends that use vinegar.

Directions

1. Saw the paper towels in half lengthwise with a serrated kitchen knife
2. Whisk together the hot water and the soap, oil and lotion in a container. The ones I have fit the paper towels perfectly and are from Dollarama!
3. Put half the paper towel in the container shredded side down. (Don’t worry about the cardboard tube.)
4. Let sit about 5 minutes, then turn upside down for 5 more minutes to saturate the roll.
5. The cardboard tube will now pull out easily.
6. Pull a “wipe” from the center.
7. Voila!

________________________

Laura Lake is a stay at home Mom to three kids – Kylah (4), Liam (2), and Ethan (5 months). Engaged at 18 and married at 19 to her highschool sweetheart, they recently moved back to their childhood hometown of Uxbridge, Ontario.  At 27 years old, people think she’s nuts for having her kids so young and close in age, but she is living her dream. Laura loves to cook (and eat!!) and loves to find and share tips on ways to save a buck! www.lakefamily.ca

I am drowning in coupons for Huggies diapers and wipes after somehow getting on their mailing list.

Anyone use this brand? Want the coupons?

We’ve been diehard Costco diaper users since Lucy was born, and find them near identical to Huggies. Still hating Pampers with their smell (more chemicals? really?), and Wal-Mart’s have offered nothing but leaks on Alice (and we have to laugh that the character on them is Garfield and Odie. Now who is THAT marketing towards? Certainly not the kids IN the diapers!).

Currently we’re in love with Teddy’s Choice, the store brand from Zehrs/SuperCentre/Loblaw’s. They are super cheap, and work super well.

But nothing, I repeat NOTHING is better than Costco unscented wipes. Nothing is a thicker or absorbant or better priced (and trust me, we’ve tried every brand. Twice.).

Anyways. Want coupons?

Alice has had a diaper rash almost since she was born.

We’re not sure if she’s just got sensitive skin, or what, but there’s always been something: Yeast, irritation from a particular poop, then the milk allergy.

It seemed like we’d get one cleared up, be great for a few days, then she’d be red and raw all over again. It’s been very frustrating. Thankfully she has rarely complained about any discomfort or pain.

No cream seemed to work. Off the top of my head, here’s what we tried:

• zinc cream of every brand (Life, Gerber, Zincofax, Destin) and concentration (10% – 40%)
• Sudocrem (hated it, from the texture to the smell, plus it never stayed put)
• Bordeaux’s Butt Paste (disliked for same reasons as Sudocrem)
• Various all natural creams that worked great on Lucy
• Nothing at all — but this would most certainly lead to some flare-up, and we realized she needed some sort of barrier cream
• Different diaper brands, which seemed to make no difference

After a bath one morning, on a whim, I grabbed Lucy’s bucket of raw shea butter. This is the only substance that clears up the dry spots on her cheeks, and keeps it from returning. We smear it on at night, and presto! Gone in the morning.

I put a generous layer on Alice’s cute but red tushie, secured her diaper and went about our day.

Just a few hours later, her bum was completely cleared. Absolutely NO redness whatsoever. That was three weeks ago, and we haven’t had a single flare-up. I’m absolutely amazed. We just put a thin layer on at each diaper change (thicker before bed).

The brand we have is from Shea Terra Organics, but I’m sure any pure shea butter would work. And not a cream with shea butter in it — I mean the raw, natural, unscented, original stuff.

On a side note, shea butter is fabulous for any rough dry spots on the body: hands, elbows, feet. We love it.

Lucy’s potty training was going fantastically — hardly any messes, consistent peeing in the potty and sometimes even on the toilet — but leaving the house was a huge problem.

My loud-noise-fearing daughter refused to even discuss going pee-pee on a toilet in any restaurant or store. You know those toilets with the long silver handle that don’t have a back tank and flush right into the floor? Generally pretty loud because of the bottom suction?

Lucy’s been terrified of them since she was wee. So the thought of sitting on one was panic-inducing for my poor girl.

This resulted in a few awful public accidents: After repeated asking around potty time if she needed to go, are you sure you don’t have to go, you must have to go?, Lucy would just…pee herself. And pee? Not in a diaper? Soaks everything. So we were back to a full diaper bag, with multiple sets of clean clothes, socks, even shoes.

But one day at the zoo — after many trips to public washrooms with me showing not ALL toilets were loud, and those that were we didn’t have to flush when she was in there — she built up enough courage and trust to go. And I tell you…the celebration in the squeezed toilet stall was epic. I didn’t care who heard me or the looks I’d get, my girl went pee-pee on a big public potty, and damnit she knew how awesome that was.

After reaching that milestone, the hunt was on to find a traveling potty seat. I found it a few days later in Sprawl-Mart: The (gotta love this…) Cushie Tushie Traveller by baby U. Around $12. Folds up well, is padded, comes with a washable bag. Did I mention the damn thing is padded?! Geesh.

It works perfect, and Lucy has never complained about being pinched or fallen in or anything. An excellent investment that will easily carry into the next baby.

Our next potty training challenge: Getting her to poop in the potty, and not in her nap time diaper. Suggestions?

Right when the weather started to turn warm, we discovered the persistent and reoccurring diaper rash Lucy was battling was not, in fact, a rash, but eczema.

Our daycare provider, Julia, diagnosed it. Her son suffered from the exact same rash in the same spot when the heat kicked in.

We weren’t terribly surprised, as Eric has small patches, and it, too, flares up in heat/humidity, as opposed to winter. Different water and soaps can exacerbate it, too.

But, man, is eczema ever a pain to treat in the diaper zone. Mostly because it’s almost always covered up. Moving to underwear has made a big difference, but Lucy’s still in a diaper for nap and overnight.

We’re currently treating it with some hydrocortisone (sparingly) when it’s REALLY bad, but mostly with a thin layer of our favourite All Things Jill Baby Bum Balm. This acts as a barrier to seal in moisture, and helps lessen the irritation from acidic poops.

But even when the patches aren’t red, they’re still raised, and can flare up from the smallest thing.

Does anyone have other treatment suggestions? Creams? Procedures? I’d really appreciate any suggestions.